Questions Existing
by SpeedlesChic
Summary: When two people's lives come to a screeching halt, will they ever find the answers to the questions that still exist within them, or will they find them in each other?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own nor have I written any of the songs that will be used in this story. A complete list of songs used will appear at the end of the story when it is finished. All credit/rights go to the artists, producers, and everyone else who was involved in making the song.

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How could she have done this to him? She had told him she would wait, but she lied. He thought she was the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with; the woman he wanted children with; the woman who was supposed to make him feel like he was loved. She wasn't that anymore. She would never be that person. She had cheated on him with his best friend, but what made the situation worse was the fact that a baby was involved. Not his child, his friend's child. Tim 'Speed' Speedle didn't know what to do, he was beyond furious. Life couldn't get any worse. Kristina and Eric hurt him beyond repair; he worked with the both of them at the Miami-Dade Crime Lab.

Speed had been gone two years. The FBI wanted him for an undercover operation to bring down one of New York's top Drug Lords. Why they had asked him, he didn't know. He hesitated and hadn't wanted to take the job, but Kristina had told him to take it. She said it would be a great opportunity for him. Eric Delko and his other co-workers, Calleigh Duquesne, Alexx Woods, and Horatio Caine had been hesitant. They didn't want to lose him. Speed wondered why Kristina wanted him to take such a risky job. He could have been killed. Now he had a good idea as to why. Speed needed to get some air and try to breathe.

The sun was just about to set when Speed parked his yellow Ducati motorcycle in the parking lot near the pier. He often came here to think after a tough case or when he had a mountain of things on his mind. As he walked closer he noticed a figure standing on the dock. It appeared to be a woman with long flowing hair. Speed debated on whether or not to stay or go. He didn't want to interrupt her if she needed time alone, but an odd feeling came over him telling him to stay.

The sound of his footsteps, on the wooden dock alerted the young woman. She didn't bother turning around. She must have thought it was someone else. "Jonathan, you made it perfectly clear you don't want to be with me anymore. I'm sorry I ruined your life. So just leave me alone, alright."

"Um, I'm not sure who this Jonathan guy is, but I know I'm not him," Speed said. His hands were tucked loosely in his jeans pockets.

The young woman spun around. "Oh! I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else," she apologized.

"It's alright." He noticed her red and puffy eyes. "You okay?" This young woman looked very familiar to him. He felt like he'd seen her on TV and in the tabloids.

She snickered. "Does it look like I'm okay?" He didn't say anything. "Sorry… again. I didn't mean to be rude. It's just I'm having a horrible-no-good-very-bad-day." She looked up into his eyes. She felt the urge to introduce herself. "Lauren Cranbrook, but my friends call me LC for short." He smiled.

Everything suddenly came together. This was Lauren Cranbrook, the Princess of Pop; the hottest thing in the entertainment industry. Her songs and films were always at the top of the charts. It seemed like everything she touched turned to gold. Lauren's face turned several shades of red. She could never get used to being recognized by people.

"Tim Speedle, but everyone calls me Speed for short," he said. Silence filled their conversation; neither of them knew what to say next. Lauren was surprised by his actions. He wasn't asking her for an autograph. He wasn't trying to grope her or kiss her like most men out there.

"What brings you here, Mr. Speedle?" Lauren asked. Her eyes traveled to his waist; she had spotted two shinny objects; the moonlight bounced off them. One on his left hand and one clipped to his belt buckle. He was a police officer and was a married man. Lauren felt somewhat safer knowing he was part of Law Enforcement. Speed shrugged his shoulders. He didn't want to bring up his problems to her, plus why would she want to hear them anyway.

"Just came out here to think, it's not a big deal. I'll let you be Miss Cranbrook. It was nice meeting you. Hope everything works out for you, I really do."

Speed started heading back to his Ducati when Lauren said, "He cheated on me and left me for another woman. We were supposed to be getting married!" She sobbed. "We were childhood sweethearts. We were supposed to be t-together forever." It is then he noticed the sparkly ring on her left hand. His heart broke in half for her, and he soon forgot about his problems. Gravity pulled him back toward her. "He told me I ruined his life. He said I made him stay with me and he felt 'obligated' to marry me." Speed pulled her in a hug letting her cry it all out.

Pulling herself together Lauren stepped out of his embrace. She felt somewhat embarrassed. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to dump all of my problems on you. You probably don't even care. You probably think I'm just being selfish and that I should be happy. I'm famous and I have everything and I should be happy. I must have the perfect life," she rambled. Lauren wiped the tears away from her eyes.

He looked at her, and could tell she was different from all the other celebrities he had met through his job. "No, it's okay, really. I don't think you're being selfish. Everyone's human," Speed said as a little smile crept a crossed his face. "Even you people are allowed to be normal."

"Us people?" Lauren raised her eyebrow. She could see he was smiling; her body became weak; his smile was intoxicating.

"Yeah… you celebrity people?" She laughed and playfully hit his shoulder.

Lauren stared up into his eyes. She wanted to know his reasons for being there. She could tell he was hurting. Being in the entertainment industry Lauren learned to read people well, and could tell he had a lot on his mind. "So Officer Speedle, what brings you out here? Tough case?" she asked again.  
Speed sighed. "I guess you could say that. Please call me Tim or Speed."

"Well then call me Lauren, or LC. It'll make you feel better. I know I can't ask you what the case was about, but I can try and help. I'm a very good listener." He didn't know what to say. Speed wasn't a person who liked to express his feelings or show too much emotion."You want to talk about it?"

He shook his head. "No, I don't want to bother you, like I said. You have enough going on right now."

"Are you sure because I-"Lauren was interrupted.

"Oh… my… god. If it isn't Lauren Cranbrook," a young college man said. "You are so sexy. I just heard your washed up boy-toy dumped you. How about you come with me and I'll show you a real good time."

This was exactly how most men treated her. "No that's okay really, thank you." Speed stood back and watched.

"Come on, my friends and I are waiting. In fact here they come now." Three handsome looking college boys came walking down the dock.

"No, I really don't want to go, but thank you," Lauren said backing up. She began to feel uneasy.

Speed picked up on it. It was time for him to step in. "Hey, why don't you back off? She said no."

"What are you, her bodyguard?" The young man snapped back walking up to Speed.

Speed pushed the man back and said, "How about, if you don't back off I'll arrest your alcohol pushing ass for harassing this young woman." He grabbed his police badge and flashed it in front of the man's face. He could smell the alcohol radiating from his body.

The man's eyes went wide. "I'm sorry Officer I was just trying to cheer this fine young woman up. She deserves a good night out." He stumbled forward bumping into Speed; he pushed the man back again.

"Take your drunken ass and your friends and get the hell out of here." The college students left on that note.

Lauren folded her arms across her chest and looked down at her feet. "You uh, you really didn't have to do that you know."

"Yeah I did." He reached out and gently rubbed the side of Lauren's arm.

"Oh please. Taking your badge out, and telling those guys to leave me alone. Saving the 'damsel in distress'. Every guys fantasy, and since you're a cop, it was probably the badge talking."

"No, it's not the badge talking, really."

She looked up at him and smiled. "Thanks."

He smiled back. "It's not a problem LC."

"Well… I guess I better go. I need to go call my friend and let her know I'm going to be staying with her awhile. It was nice meeting you Speed. Maybe I'll see you around." Lauren held out her hand for him to shake. He happily took it. "I hope everything works out or whatever is troubling you. You seem like a nice guy. Your wife is a lucky woman." He didn't know what to say. Kristina and he were done; he would never go back to her.

"Hey LC… if you ever need anything here's my card." Lauren smiled and gladly took it. She thanked him and made her way to the parking lot up ahead. Speed watched Lauren as she made her way back down the dock and to her car; it was a teal metallic Pontiac Grand Prix.

He turned around and faced the ocean again thinking about the day's events, but particularly when he arrived home. He closed his eyes and remembered what happened.

Speed's plane touched down at Miami International Airport early that morning around 6:00am. The FBI had let him go early due to the fact they had captured all members of the New York Drug Cartel.

He couldn't wait to get home and see his wife of a little over two years. Speed called her as often as he could, but made sure he called her on her birthday and on their anniversary.

An airport taxi was waiting for him when he exited the building. The man grabbed Speed's luggage and loaded it up into the van. "Do you think we could stop at the flower shop? I want to get some flowers for my wife. I haven't seen her in a long time," Speed said.

"Yeah, sure thing sir. Where have you been?" the cab driver asked.

"I've been away on work."

"Well, welcome home sir. Do you have a certain flower shop in mind?"

"No, just whatever's closer." The cab driver nodded and headed to the nearest flower shop. The flower shop didn't open until eight in the morning so he decided to get some breakfast.

After he had finished eating, the cab driver drove him to the flower shop, where he waited in a long line. Apparently everyone wanted flowers that day. "Thanks for driving me all over Donald," Speed said.

"It's not a problem Officer Speedle," Donald said. He had recognized Speed only a few minutes after he drove off from the airport. Speedle paid Donald and exited the car. Speed grabbed his bags from the back of the van. When he walked past Donald, the man said, "Go welcome home your lady… if you know what I mean." He winked at Speed then drove off.

With no more distractions around him Speed noticed not only Kristina's car but Eric's car as well. "Why would he be here?" he asked himself out loud. "Maybe he's just visiting?"  
Putting all his suspicions aside, he walked up the steps to their front door. He tried opening it, but the door was locked. Fishing out his keys from his pocket he inserted the house key into the lock, turned the key, opened the door, and walked in. "Krissy, I'm home!" Speed shouted. Nothing. The house was silent. "Kristina I'm home!" Silence. "Where is she?" he asked himself.  
He set the flowers on the small kitchen table. Their house wasn't big, but it wasn't tiny. Neither Speed nor Kristina had a knack for design. Their house was furnished with hand-me-downs and whatever felt comfortable for them; the walls were painted all white; the floors were finished with cream floor tiles.

Speed made his way to their upstairs. Again white walls, but the floors were finished in a cream colored California Berber carpet that had tints and shades of brown. "Kris-" he began to say but stopped when he heard a moaning sound. He listened closer to find out where the noise was  
coming from; their bedroom.

Fearing the worst Speed broke into a fast pace walk. "Kristina!" he shouted. He grabbed the door handle and turned it. He was grateful the door wasn't locked; he would soon regret it. What he saw horrified him.

There on their bed was his wife and best friend stripped down naked, having sex. All Speed could do was stare. His voice had left him and went all the way to Timbuktu. Kristina and Eric stopped what they were doing and looked at Speed; both shocked. "What are you doing home Timmy?" Kristina asked. Eric rolled off of her and faced Speed.

Speed's voice seemed to have come back to him, he said, "What am I doing home? What am I DOING HOME! This is my house Kristina… this is OUR house!"

"Honey, it's not what you think-"

"Not what I think? You're in bed fucking Eric! My best friend!" If looks could kill, Eric would be dead. He would be massacred. The look on Speed's face was of pure anger and disgust. His eyes became dark and unrecognizable. "How could you? What the hell is WRONG with you two?"

"Speed, please just let us expl-"Eric tried to speak.

"Shut the fuck up, Delko. Just shut up! Oh my god! My wife is sleeping with my best friend." Speed rubbed his face with his hands. His head was throbbing.

While he did this both Kristina and Eric got dressed. "Tim, calm down please," Kristina said softly.

"Calm down? Calm DOWN! I just walked in on you having sex with him." He pointed to Eric. Speed looked at the wall that was in front of him. There was a picture of their wedding day. He yanked it off the wall and threw it down on the tiled bathroom floor that was across from their bedroom. The glass in the frame shattered; the frame broke into three pieces; the rage inside of Speed was beginning to build.

He was about to continue talking when a crying sound came from behind him. He looked down the hall and then to Kristina then Delko. "What's that?"

"It's, it's a baby crying," Kristina said.

"Why is there a baby crying in this house? Did your sister have a baby?" Speed asked.

"Well, no. Um not exactly… no."

"Then tell me why there is a baby crying in our-" Eric headed down the hall to the baby's room. Speed felt tears filling the corners of his eyes. "Did, did you get pregnant and not tell me about our child?" Speed's voice cracked.

"Um… well she's… she's not-"

He flashed his 'if looks could kill' look. "The baby isn't mine is it?" Then it all came together. Eric had gone down the room to get the crying baby. The child was Eric's. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my GOD! What the hell is happening here? I come home early to surprise you and this is what I get."

"Timmy, I'm sorry," she said sadly.

"Don't call me Timmy anymore." Eric came out with his daughter. Speed looked and saw she was a spitting image of Eric. Skin tone, eyes, hair, and facial structure were all the same, and the baby was too young to be his child. "Tell me Kristina… I want a straight answer… did you ever love me? Did you ever and I mean ever love me?"

"Yes… I did love you and still do-"

Speed interrupted her. "No you don't. You made your choice. You can expect divorce papers to be filed ASAP… I hope you two have a nice life," he said coldly. He kicked the picture frame one last time shattering it even more before he headed downstairs, and out of what use to be their house.

Opening his eyes he saw something draped over the railing on the dock. He walked closer and saw it was a scarf, an aqua and green scarf. He picked it up thinking maybe a name would be on it. He grabbed one end, the tag wasn't there. He reached for the other end. When he found the tag he grabbed his cell phone to shine some light on it. He smiled seeing there was a name present on the tag. It read: TO LC FROM D. 'Lauren,' he said to himself. 'She must have set this down or it fell and she forgot it.' He smiled to himself again. Speed folded up the scarf so it was able to fit in his pocket. He would give this back to her if he had the chance to see her again. He searched for his keys and headed back to his bike. He was off to a hotel. He didn't have a place to go at the moment, and he didn't want to bother anyone.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Speed carried on with his work like normal. He acted like nothing had happened between Kristina and Eric. The rest of the team said nothing either even though it was constantly on their minds. Calleigh was furious with Eric; Alexx was furious with Eric; Horatio was disappointed in his CSI and hurt by Eric's actions. He never thought this would happen; he could see so much hurt and anger in Speedle's eyes.

Speed had just gotten back from the first crime scene of the day, and he was headed to his Trace Lab. A syringe with clear liquid was found at the scene and he needed to find out what it was. He knew there was a chance he would run into Kristina, after all she was a trace tech.

Kristina was there. He walked in and grabbed his lab coat without saying anything. He searched for the syringes that he had bagged and tagged at the scene, but he didn't see them. "Did the trace evidence come in yet?" Speed asked Kristina as he continued to search the lab.

She stared at him for a moment then said, "Uh yeah they did, but I already put them in the Mass-Spec for you. They should be coming out soon."

"Thanks." He walked over to the analyzing machine and waited for the results. An awkward silence filled the lab.

"So… uh… where did you go last night? I thought you would come back to our house," Kristina said.

Speed looked at her, astonished she would ask that question. "You really thought I would come back to the house Kristina… I stayed at a hotel."

"Well I-"

Speed cut her off. "I don't want to talk about this at work. I'm beginning to see why Stetler was threatening to stop workplace relationships. They should never happen." The printer began printing the results. He read the paper, "Clomiphene." A look of confusion came a crossed his face.

"What's that?" Kristina asked.

"It's a fertility drug." He pulled out his cell phone to call his boss, Lt. Horatio Caine. One the second ring he picked up. "H! Clomiphene was in the two syringes Calleigh, Delko, and I found at the scene."

"Fertility drugs Speed?" Horatio asked.

"Yeah. I'm thinking they belonged to the murdered wife. I mean, Yelina said the couple had been trying to start a family," Speed said glancing over at Kristina. She quickly looked away from his piercing stare. "I'm not sure where Alexx is on the autopsy."

"She just started. She's going as fast as she can. Speed did you find a prescription or anything saying that it was the wife's?"

"No, but I have a hunch it's hers. One was found in her hand and the second one in her purse. Other than that nothing else was found."

"Okay, here's what we're going to do. See if you can find where the wife got the drugs from. Go back to the house and search the medical clinics around the area... keep me posted, Speed."

"Sure thing H," Speed sighed and hung up.

Just then the door opened and Eric walked in. He didn't see Speed standing at the printer. "Hey Krissy my mom just called and Hailey is-" He stopped when Speed cleared his throat signaling he was there. Eric's elated expression quickly faded to a frown.

"Grab your kit, Delko, and meet me out at the hummer. We need to start searching for the doctor who sold the wife Clomiphene," Speed said handing him the results as he walked toward the door and out into the hallway.

When Speed came back to get Eric, he found him and Kristina still talking. "Delko, stop flirting with your girlfriend, and get your stuff so we can get this over with," he said coldly poking his head into the lab. "You have a job to do."

Driving in the hummer alone with Eric was the last thing he wanted. In fact being alone with him in the same room was torture enough, but as of right now his job required him to. Their drive to Miami General was silent and filled with awkward tension.

Speed parked the hummer at Miami General Hospital and the two headed in. Neither of them knew where the fertility building was so they headed over to the information desk. The kind lady behind the desk told them to take a right at the end of the hall, take the elevator to the fifth floor, hang a left, and turn right into the offices. The two co-workers would be confined to a small space once again.

Eric fidgeted a little as Speed pushed the number five button on the elevator wall. "Speed…" he hesitated. "Speed, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen. I really didn't," he apologized once again. Eric felt like he couldn't say that two word phrase enough. He felt terrible for what he and Kristina had done. He couldn't speak for Kristina, only himself.

Speed looked at Eric. He knew his apology was sincere, and he knew Eric never meant for this to happen, but the fact is, it did happen. He didn't know if he could ever forgive them for what they had done. Clearing his throat Speed said, "Let's not talk about this at work. It doesn't belong here." Eric nodded as the elevator doors opened to the fifth floor. "She said it's to our left then to our right." The two walked to their left and then to their right, and sure enough the fertility clinic was there.

The room was filled with women who, were mostly in their mid to late thirties, but there were a few younger women in their twenties. Upon hearing the door open the ladies looked up to see the two men standing there. Eric began to feel uncomfortable while Speed ignored the stares, and walked up to the sign-in window.

Clearing his throat Speed said, "Excuse me, I am CSI Tim Speedle, and this is CSI Eric Delko, we're from the Miami-Dade Crime Lab." Eric and Speed flash their badges and IDs. "We're investigating a murder and we need to know if you had a patient by the name of Lucy Reynolds."

The secretary became uncomfortable. She never experienced anything like this before and didn't know what to do. "Um, hold on officers. Let me go get the head doctor. You two can come back if you'd like. I'll buzz you in." she said. Speed walked over to the door and waited to enter.

Hearing the woman say it was okay he grabbed a hold of the door handle and turned it. The door opened, and they walked towards the back offices. "Speed, there were some cute women back there," he said with a sly grin.

Speed turned and faced Eric. He gave him a look. "Delko, you have a child… a family, get a hold of yourself. You can't be go-out-clubbing-every-night-Eric anymore." Eric's smile faded and he stood up straighter.

Looking around the office, Speed saw a woman standing near the scale talking to one of the nurses. He got that good funny feeling he had last night when he had met Lauren. Why, he didn't know. The woman turned so he could see her face. She was in fact Lauren Cranbrook. He swallowed hard and the two locked eyes. He had no idea why she would be here, but then again he wasn't a woman, and didn't know her well.

She walked passed him she gave him a little smile; no words were exchanged. Lauren kept walking until the nurse showed her an exam room. Speed looked down at his feet and half smiled. He tried to keep the butterflies down, and tried to keep his mind on the case at hand.

"Officer Speedle, Delko," the receptionist called. "Dr. Maria Heins, is our head doctor here."

"It's nice to meet you gentlemen. How can I help you?" Dr. Heins asked with a smile.

"Do you have an office we can talk in?" Speed asked.

"Yes, just let me notify my patient I'll be just a few more minutes." Dr. Heins quickly walked away.  
Eric turned to Speed and whispered in his ear, "Speed that was Lauren Cranbrook."

"You are unbelievable you know that." Speed shook his head in annoyance.

"Okay Officers, follow me. My office is just right back here." The two CSIs followed her into the small office. "How can I help you gentlemen?"

Speed grabbed the folder he had brought, opened it, and placed it on the metal desk. "Do you recognize this woman at all?"

Dr. Heins looked intently as she studied the photograph of a dead woman.. "Um… yes this woman is Lucy Reynolds. She's a patient of mine or was. What happened?" She was in shock.

"She was murdered this morning in her home along with her husband," Speed said removing the file from the desk.

"When was the last time you saw Mrs. Reynolds?" Eric asked sitting back in one of the office chairs.

"Uh, yesterday morning. She came in to talk about starting a new fertility treatment. She and her husband were trying for a child. She had a condition called PCOS."

"Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome?" Speed asked getting up from the chair he had been sitting in.

She smiled. "Yes, that's right Officer Speedle. You're a smart man. Not too many people know what that is."

"He reads books," Delko said jokingly. Speed stared blankly at his co-worker.

"Dr. Heins, do you mind if I take a look around? Do you remember what room she was in?"

She thought for a moment then looked up at Speed. "She was in exam Room 5 and no, you can take a look, just be careful. I have patients in some of the rooms, Officer Speedle."

He smiled. "Don't worry I'm only interested in one room at the moment." He opened the door and headed out into the hallway in search of room five. He counted in his head, 'One, two, three...' as he headed down the hall. 'Four...' He stopped in front of the closed door. 'Five.' He knocked on the door and waited for an answer.

"Come in," a woman said. He recognized that voice. His heart skipped a beat. Of all the rooms in the office Lauren was in this one. He smiled to himself and entered the room.

"Excuse me Miss but I-" They both looked at one another.

Both simultaneously said, "Hey." Lauren looked down at the floor and blushed while Speed looked to his left.

Both looked at one another again. Lauren said, "Hi."

"Hi," he said back smiling. "How are you?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "You know… I'm breathing. How are you? How's your case working out?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean. The case is… is going." He couldn't keep his eyes off of her. Dressed in her regular street clothes, she wore what looked like to be old distressed blue jeans and a loose fitting white cotton t-shirt, with a logo of some sort; Speed didn't recognize it. "I hate to do this LC, but I need you to leave the room for a few minutes. I need to process this area."

Lauren smiled a comforting smile that gave Speed butterflies in his stomach. "Yeah, sure. No problem, Speed." She got up and headed out into the hallway letting Speed do what he needed to do.


	3. Chapter 3

Eric Delko exited Dr. Heins's office. "Well, thank you very much for your help Dr. Heins," he said; they shook hands.

"I'll do anything to help the investigation. Call me if you need anything else Officer Delko." She winked at him as he was turning. He caught the wink and wanted to be suave with the young, pretty doctor so he flashed his best smile that seemed to make the ladies melt and winked back.

While walking out of her office, he was so concentrated on making a "good impression" that he miscalculated where the door was and walked directly into the wall. "Uh, Officer Delko the door is to your right not left." She smiled at him and went out to see her waiting patient. His face turned a bright shade of red as he walked out into the hallway. "Lauren I'll be with you in just a minute. I promise this is the last interruption," Dr. Heins said.

Lauren looked up from what she was doing. She had been writing something on a small pad of paper. "Okay, it's not a problem. I'm not in a hurry."

Seeing that Speed was still in Exam Room 5, Eric decided to talk to Lauren, who was sitting on a little bench. "Wow, Lauren Cranbrook. You look so much sexier in real life. I just love your songs, very..." He looked her up and down and licked his lips. "Very sexy."

She met his eyes and raised an eyebrow. "Uh thanks." She looked back at her notepad; she began to write again.

"You writing a song or something?"

"Uh no. Not that it's any of your business." She gave him a little smile. Neither of them said anything for a moment. "You know your partner is in there. I'm sure he'd like some help processing the room," Lauren said breaking the silence.

"Nah, it's a small room it would be too crowded." He continued to stare at her.

Lauren took notice. "If you could stop staring at me that would be great, thank you."

"Oh, sorry. It's just I've never really met someone like you… you know a celebrity."

"It's alright," Lauren said folding the sheet of notepad paper she had been writing on. She placed the pen and notepad in her handbag then leaned back against the wall.

Just then the door opened to Exam Room 5, and Speed exited the room. "You can go back in now Lauren," he said. He had found nothing.

Lauren stood up and walked up to him. "Thanks Officer Speedle. Hope everything works out with this case."

"Thanks." Lauren shifted her weight to her left foot. Speed looked down and saw she was holding a piece of paper. She nonchalantly waved it at him, out of Delko's eyesight; he realized it was for him.

"Uh Delko, why don't you meet me out in the hall. I just need to ask Dr. Heins a quick question. I won't be long."

Eric nodded. "Sure Speed. It was nice talking to you Lauren." She nodded back.

They watched Eric until he was out of sight and earshot. "He wasn't bothering you was he?" Speed asked smiling.

"No, he was harmless." She then added jokingly, "Although I thought I saw some stalker tendencies." They both smiled at each other. "He seems like a nice guy."

Speed looked down at the floor. "Yeah…"

Lauren sensed a mood change in Speed so she decided to change the subject. "Here Speed. Take this." She handed him the note she had written. "Read it when you want or you don't have to, but I hope you do. You're a really nice guy." He reached out and took the folded note. Lauren noticed his gold wedding band was missing. She felt deep down he hadn't just forgotten it or hadn't just taken it off for work. She reached out and gently grabbed the side of his arm. She squeezed it and with encouragement. "It was nice seeing you again, Speed."

"It was nice seeing you again too." He forced a smile.

"Lauren I'm ready for you. We can just talk in my office okay," Dr. Heins said coming back down the hallway. With that the two said their goodbyes, and went their separate ways; he had forgotten to tell her about the scarf.

Later on, back at the lab, Speed met up with Calleigh in her Firearms Lab. "Hey Tim! How'd it go?"

He sighed. "We found our doctor, Dr. Maria Heins. Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds were trying to have a child. It explains the fertility shots. Mrs. Reynolds had a condition called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome or PCOS. Dr. Heins gave me the room she had been in the previous day. I searched it, but I found nothing."

"Nothing case breaking," Calleigh said sighing.

"Well not that we know of yet. H is still doing his thing. Did you find anything or are you still waiting on Alexx?"

"I'm still waiting for Alexx," she said with a calming southern smile. Speed smiled back. He could always count on her to make him feel better even when things were tough. He loved her like a sister, the sister he never had.

He was about to speak when his cell phone rang. It was Horatio. Speed reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. At the same time the note Lauren had given him fell out. "Hello," he answered. Speed hadn't noticed.

Calleigh bent down to pick it up. At first she thought it was a piece of evidence, but quickly realized Speed would never put something like that in his pocket. "Hey Tim-" He raised his index finger to his lips. He mouthed, 'hold on' and walked to where he could better hear Horatio.

Being naturally curious Calleigh wanted to read what the piece of paper said. 'No I shouldn't… well why not. It can't hurt,' she said to herself. She looked up to see where Speed was. He was by the front of the lab, still talking.

She quickly unfolded the small white piece of paper. It read:

_Speed,_  
_It was nice to see you again even if it was at a doctor's office. I'm glad I met you. You seem like a really great guy. Any woman would be lucky to have you. I hope we get to see each other again. If you want meet me at the pier tonight after dark - 10:00pm - I'll be there. I need to clear my mind. Here's my number: 1-248-555-5078. A lot of people would kill to have this number. *wink wink*_  
_Love always,_  
_LC_

When Calleigh finished reading it she folded the note the same way it had been; she finished just in time. "Sorry about that Calleigh. I couldn't hear H very good."

She smiled. "It's alright. Did he find anything new?"

He shook his head. "No, he just wanted to know if Delko and I found anything with the wife." Speed sighed and slipped his phone back in his pocket.

Calleigh clutched the note in her hand and said, "Hey Tim, this fell out of your pocket." She handed it to him. "And I just want to remind you, you are still married. Getting involved with someone right now isn't such a good idea."

For a moment he didn't know what she was talking about. When he did he said, "Calleigh. It's nothing, really. Trust me I'm not looking for another relationship right now. I'm far from it."

"I'm just saying, Tim. Don't stoop down to Kristina's level. You're better than that."

"I know."

"Good… so how are you doing anyway? Where are you staying?" she asked. He tended to internalize his personal feelings. "And I want you to tell me the truth, Tim."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Truthfully Calleigh… I really don't know. I haven't had much time to think about it. And I'm staying in a hotel. I'm not going back to that house."

Calleigh nodded in agreement. She could see his point of view, and would have done the same thing. "Hey Tim, you can stay with me until you get a new place. After all what are friends for?"

He looked at her and smiled. "Cal, thanks but no thanks. I don't want to-"

She interrupted him. "You're not, and if I hadn't just asked you Alexx would be asking and probably Horatio too. Now I'm not taking no for an answer." Calleigh looked into his eyes and knew he was thinking things over.

He finally said, "Fine I'll do it, but we need to move on and start examining the evidence in layout." Calleigh smiled brightly knowing she had won the fight, again.

* * *

Dressed in her black yoga pants, tennis shoes, and hot pink sports bra workout tank, Lauren entered the dance studio. Life seemed to be spinning out of control. "Sorry I'm late guys I had a doctor's appointment. It took longer than I expected," Lauren said somewhat distracted.

Her manager, Scott Kelly looked at her concerned. He thought of her as his own daughter. "Lauren, you okay? We heard about you and Jon what happened?"

She looked at him. She wanted to cry and tell him everything, but she didn't. She kept it in and remind put together. "Yeah I'm fine, I guess," was all she said.

"What happened?" he asked again.

"Shit happens Scott. We just grew apart from each other." She lied. "So we need to figure out what we're going to do with the show tomorrow night. He was supposed to be doing it with me and now he's not." Jonathan Kirkpatrick was also in the spotlight; he was a singer/dancer. He was a jack of all trades, the music trade that is. His career was going south and needed a pick-me up. He called his first love and one of his best friends and asked to work with her.

"Okay, okay. Don't worry. I'll take care of it. We'll get another dancer. I have someone in mind. Why don't you continue practicing now with everyone? I'll call you back within the hour." Lauren nodded and went to set her designer handbag down at the back of the dance studio.

Two hours later, Lauren and her dancers, along with her choreographer, Ashley Orpheum were still practicing. "Wait! Stop a minute, please. What am I supposed to do after 'hey boy don't you know I got somethin' goin' on'?" Lauren asked blankly.

"Lauren, come on this song is from your first CD you should know this by now. I know your upset about what's going on, but you need to focus, focus, focus," Ashley said firmly.

Putting her head in her hands hiding her tears Lauren said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm SORRY!" She quickly walked to the back of the room and grabbed her pink Blackberry out of her bag. "I need a break." Lauren headed toward the bathroom where she would have the most privacy. If she sat outside, paparazzi would more than likely be out there waiting for her. She shut the door behind her and locked it. Finding the bench she sat down and dialed her sister, Margaret Colonna's cell phone number. She hoped her sister would pick up.

"...nice rotation, let's get up there fast. Hello? Lauren?" Maggie said into her phone finishing her conversation with her co-workers before turning her attention to her phone. She was a storm chaser, and had her Masters in Meteorology.

"Maggie, can you please come down to Miami?" Lauren sobbed. Her older sister could barely understand her.

"Songbird, I can hardly hear you, you need to calm down. Now what's the matter?"

Lauren took deep sharp breaths in efforts to calm herself down, "Can you please come down to Miami." She started to cry again; her face flooded with tears.

Her older sister's heart dropped. Being the oldest of four, she was a natural protector over her brother and sisters. "Baby girl what's the matter?"

Lauren swallowed hard. "Jon broke up with me. He cheated on me. I came home and found him having sex in our bed with some prostitute. Please come down to Miami. I'm so lonely here right now. Can you and mom, dad, Danny, and Maddie come down please?" She couldn't stop crying.

"Lauren, I am on my way to Colorado. I will call mom and daddy, and I will tell them to come down now with the D-man and Maddie. There is nothing I can do now, I'm working, and you know that. I'm sorry about Johnny. He's an asshole for even looking at another girl, let alone, doing that. Listen, I have to go, but I love you and I'll figure something out."

"No, please Maggie. Don't leave me please... don't leave me..." Lauren's hands shook as she held her phone.

A sigh could be heard over the phone. "Songbird, I'm… I…" Another sigh came over the phone. "Ok, talk to me then."

"I want you to come down here. I have no one to talk to. Jessica is in Spain filming her next music video and touring."

"Let's not talk work that will only upset you more. Hold on, Jack is calling me. Don't go anywhere."

Five minutes went by and Lauren was starting to get worked up again. "Ok, sorry Laurie, Ugh, hold on, Charlie the Doppler is showing a bowing echo, we need to go there, now. Laurie, I'm sorry. Ok so you miss your big sister and need a friend. I'm here, I'm always here, you know that. When did this happen with Johnny?"

"Yesterday," was all she said as she wiped her eyes. Lauren also felt like she should tell Maggie the other news.

"Yesterday, yesterday! Lauren Ashley Cranbrook, now I know I'm a mother and have a crazy ass job, but what is the one thing I have always, always told you?"

"Call you day or night."

"Call me day or night, that's right, and did I get a phone call? Nooooo." Maggie sighed. "I understand though. I… I…" She paused. "I told Jack to tell mom and dad, so they should be on the next flight out."

"I'm sorry. I went to the pier and I got distracted, and I've had a lot on my mind this week." An image of Speed popped into her head and she smiled a crooked smile.

"Like what?"

"I-I went to my gyno because I've had some issues with my period and other things," Lauren said trying to gather her thoughts. This is not how she wanted to tell her sister.

"Umm, what are you saying are you... 'cause I thought you were going to be married before you, umm, you know."

She chuckled a little. "No, no I'm not pregnant. I'm far from that. I was having the lower abdomen pain again. It got bad these past couple week. My doctor said… said I have PCOS." Lauren's bottom lip started to quiver and tears again cascaded down her cheeks.

"Polycystic ovarian syndrome? Oh Lauren, no."

"I can't have kids." Her hands started to tremble again.

"Stop it. It's hard to keep something like that a secret, who else have you told?" Lauren could hear the slight waiver in her sister's voice. Maggie was strong, but Lauren knew her sister couldn't protect her from this. She felt helpless. "Don't say you can't have kids, there are things doctors can do."

"Yes I know, but still… did you know a miscarriage is forty-five percent more likely to happen because of this? And we all said I would be the first one to get married and have kids. Looks like that failed," Lauren said somberly.

"No, you didn't fail. Don't ever say that. You are one of the most successful people I know. You are young yet. Maybe there is something that can be done, and you will meet someone who will never look twice at another woman."

"Tim Speedle," she whispered softly without realizing it.

"Now Baby girl, I know you just didn't whisper a man's name." She sighed. "All I can tell you is to not get involved so fast, take some time. Please."

"What? Oh, yeah I guess I did. Yeah I know. Well work is waiting to be danced out so I better go. Thanks for talking to me Maggie. Please come down soon. I need you here."

"No problem Songbird. Hey, remember that nothing else matters on that stage but you and your fans. This is your job, don't let life interfere. I'll try to figure something out. Love and hugs."

"Thanks. Love you too. Say hi to those adorable kids for me."

"I will. Bye." And soon Lauren was left by herself again.


	4. Chapter 4

Day faded into night and the CSIs of Miami-Dade County were at a dead end. Alexx Woods, the Medical Examiner, concluded the causes of death for the Reynolds to be natural causes. Horatio found that unsettling; a young couple in their early thirties dead of natural causes. He remembered a case a few years back. A young college boy had been found dead at a party – a cupcake party the host said – lying outside tangled up in purple satin sheets, naked. Speed, Calleigh, and himself were on the case. After sometime the cause of death changed from natural causes to poison. The drug of choice, nicotine, but it doesn't mean that's what happened to the Reynolds; poison maybe, but poison by nicotine, no.

Horatio told his three CSIs to go home and get some rest. He wanted their minds fresh. They had been working hard non-stop.

Before Speed left, Horatio called him up to his office. "H, you wanted to see me?" Speed asked standing in the doorway.

"Yeah Speed, I did. Sit down please," Horatio said with a smile. Speed sat down. Horatio leaned forward resting his elbows on his desk and folding his hand as if he was about to pray. "How are you doing Speed?"

Speed knew that question was coming. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'm not really sure how I am or how I feel. It's all just kind of… it all just came so fast."

Horatio nodded. "You know Speed, if you need anything or need someone to talk to you can come to me you know that right?" Speed nodded his head and said yes. "Okay… Calleigh came to talk to me. She said you're going to be staying with her. I think that's a good idea, Speed. Being alone isn't good right now."

"Yeah, I had no choice really. It's Calleigh. If she wants something she'll go after it. I've just learned to agree with her."

Horatio laughed. "Yeah, that's a good choice. Well, Speed go get some rest okay. If you need time off or just a day off let me know okay. And I'm here day or night."

Speed thanked his boss for his support and friendship. Horatio was like a father to him. His relationship with his parents wasn't anything special. He was brought up well, and was treated well. He knew he should call them more often, but never did. His relationship with his brother, who was thirteen years younger than him, was almost non-existent.

Speed found Calleigh waiting for him in the parking garage. "Hey Tim! What took you so long?" Calleigh asked.

"Uh, Horatio wanted to talk to me for a minute, sorry. If you don't mind I have to go pick up my stuff from the hotel." Speed said softly.

Calleigh flashed her sweet southern smile and said, "Yeah sure no problem, Tim."  
"After that I'm going to go back to the house. I need to get the rest of my stuff and give Kristina the papers."

"That's fine. I'll be right behind you." Speed started walking toward his yellow Ducati and Calleigh to her Chrysler. She waited for Speed to drive off; she would follow him.

Calleigh pulled into the driveway of Speed's former home. She shut the engine off to her silver Chrysler Crossfire and opened her door. Before she stepped out she asked Speed if he was ready. He just looked at her, nodded, stepped out of the car, and grabbed the manila envelope that had been on the car floor. They contained the annulment papers. After some thought, Speed wanted his marriage to Kristina erased from the records.

"Tim, do you want some of the boxes in my trunk for your stuff?" Calleigh asked as she pointed to the back of her car. She had had some packages arrive at her place and never took the boxes to the recycle.

"Yeah just one. I don't have much else left," he said with a small smile. Calleigh smiled back and went to grab a cardboard box while Speed headed to the front door. Subconsciously he went to open the door, but stopped, remembering the last time he did that. He most certianly didn't want to see that sight again.

Calleigh caught up with him. She noticed Eric's GMC Yukon was in the driveway. She was glad he was there because she needed to tell him how she really felt. "Eric's here." Speed didn't say anything he just looked at the black SUV then knocked on the front door. Calleigh placed her right hand on her friend's back letting him know everything would be okay, and that she had his back.

The door opened and Kristina appeared behind it. No baby in her arms. Speed was grateful. "Come in," she said. She soon noticed Calleigh standing behind Speed. "What is she doing here?"

"She's my friend Kristina and she cares about me and she's here to help me get my things," Speed said walking past her. Calleigh followed.

"I-I didn't get any of your things together. I didn't know if you were going to be coming back to stay until you, um…"

"Don't worry about it. Here, these are for you. Court date is in a month." He handed her the envelope and took the box from Calleigh.

Calleigh sat in one of the missed matched armchairs in the living room. Kristina sat on the sofa. Feeling she should say something, Calleigh said, "Is Eric here? I saw his SUV out in the driveway."

"Um, yeah he's around here I don't know where," she said.

Calleigh sat up straight and leaned forward. "Good because once I'm done talking to you I want to talk to him."

"Okay," was all Kristina said. She knew that look on Calleigh's face and she didn't like it.

"I want to know why. I want to know why you did this to him. He loved you Kristina. He said he never wanted to take the job in the first place," Calleigh said. "But yet you practically forced him to go. Worst of all you said you would be there when he came back."

Kristina had never seen this side of Calleigh until now, but she had heard Eric, Speed, and Horatio talk about it, even Alexx from time to time. "I don't know. I… it just… it just happened." She hesitated not knowing what to say. In her mind she knew, but saying it out loud was a whole different story.

Calleigh narrowed her eyes at the woman who betrayed her best friend. "I find that very hard to believe, Kristina. You know exactly why you did it, and I want to know right now." She was becoming angry.

"I love Tim I really do-"

Calleigh interrupted her. "You love him? If you really loved him you wouldn't have done what you did!"

Kristina scrunched up her face in annoyance. "Calleigh, please, don't act like you know how it happened."

"You're right Sweet Pea, I don't know how it happened with Eric, but I know how your love connection happened with Tim, and I'm sure as hell it probably happened the same way with Eric."

Calleigh remembered when Kristina first walked into the lab. All the men turned their heads to see who the new hottie of the Trace Lab would be. The usual happened: jaws dropped, eyes popped out, and when Kristina walked by she had smiled at each and every one of them. Speed had looked up when she sauntered in. Their eyes had met and smiles were made that could illuminate the whole state of Florida for a day. The two had hit if off from the beginning. They were always laughing and joking.

Some time passed and Speed still hadn't asked her out. Kristina didn't like that. She had started hanging out with other guys to make him feel jealous. In the end she won him over. Six months later they had gotten married. His friends and family were shocked, especially Calleigh. She wanted to say something to Speed, but she didn't. Now she regretted it. Calleigh wanted to know exactly why Kristina did what she did. "Kristina, tell me why. I want to know why you did this?" she demanded.

Kristina was taken aback by Calleigh's sternness.

"I-I… um…" she stuttered.

Speed was heading down the stairs when he heard Calleigh and Kristina's conversation; he stopped a few steps from the bottom; he wanted to hear Kristina had to say. "You know exactly why you did it, and I want to know right now."

This time, not fazed by Calleigh's forcefulness, she yelled, "You want to know why I did it?" Calleigh folded her arms a crossed her chest telling Kristina to continue on. "I did it because I have a fear of commitment, I hate being tied down to one person. I need others to fulfill different parts of my life. Tim was the only one that came close, and actually was what I was looking for. I got scared after I got married. I saw all these gorgeous men and I couldn't have them, couldn't touch them. It burned me, so I needed to get out, and Eric was there and he was so nice to me."

Calleigh looked disgusted. She couldn't believe she was hearing this, but then again she could. "You are completely disgusting you know that. Tim loved you so much, and this is how you repay him, by using him." The look on Kristina's face said it all. She had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

Speed was crushed. 'How could I have not seen that?' he said to himself.

"Calleigh that's enough!" Eric said coming in from the backyard. He had been standing there long enough to know what was going on; he doesn't see Speed standing at the bottom of the stairway. "How can you even say something like that?"

Calleigh turned and face her friend. "You, Eric Delko, I am the most disgusted with… I expected this behavior from her but not you. I have held my tongue long enough." Calleigh glared at him. "How could you do this to, Tim? Your best friend of all people, Eric!"

"Calleigh, I didn't mean for this to happen I-"

She interrupted him; her voice thick with emotion. "Don't even say the Eric! If you didn't mean for this to happen then you would have stopped it before anything happened, Speed wouldn't have seen what he saw, and Kristina and him might still have had a chance at working everything out. You two ruined him. Can't you see that?" Tears streamed down Calleigh's pretty southern face. "I can see it in his eyes. In his expressions… you hurt him…" Eric felt like he had been hit with a ton of bricks. 'What have I done?' he asked himself. 'I think I just lost my best friend.' Calleigh wiped the tears away, but more continued to fall. "I can't be here anymore. I can't even look at you." She grabbed her purse and walked toward the stairs. She was surprised to see Speed standing there. He looked heartbroken; no words were needed between the two. Calleigh turned and headed out to her car.

Speed headed back upstairs to collect the last of his possessions. Not much was left for him to collect except a few family heirlooms and some personal items he hadn't taken with him.

He walked past the baby room that once was his domain. Kristina had let him have the room if she could have the master bedroom closet. He agreed. Speed reached out and grabbed the door knob, but quickly pulled his hand away. There was nothing in there that belonged to him now. He sighed and headed downstairs. Kristina and Eric were still in the living room.

Speed had something he wanted to say to them both, he said, "I can't believe you Kristina. I loved you and all you did was 'try me out'." Speed set his box of stuff on the sofa and continued, "So what was our first month of marriage?" Kristina was about respond but he stopped her. "You know what? Don't even answer that because everything that comes out of your mouth is a lie." He turned and faced Eric. "And you Delko… I can't believe you, of all people. I told you to look after her while I was gone, and this is how you go about it. I-I can't even wrap my brain around it. I thought we were best friends. Now I don't even think our friendship can be repaired. Calleigh was right… the whole time." Speed picked up the box from the oversized sofa, and left without letting Kristina and Eric speak.

Speed put his box in the backseat of Calleigh car and got in. Calleigh turned to him after a minute. "You going to be okay?" Her voice still shaky with emotion. Speed exhaled and looked out the window. "Tim?"

He turned. "I heard you Calleigh. I don't know if I'm going to be okay. Can we just get out of this area?" He went back to looking out the window. Still looking at him and with a face of worry she nodded and put the car in drive.


	5. Chapter 5

Later on the evening, Lauren sat out on the porch of her best friend Jessica's house while she waited for her family to arrive. Lauren picked up her guitar, and began to play a few chords. She debated on how and what she would say to the rest of her family.

Her fingers stopped moving and her lips began to move as she started to sing, "She's so lucky, she's a star…" she trailed off and chuckled then spoke, "but she cry, cry, cries in her lonely heart." Lauren's mind traveled all the way back to last night and earlier today to the man she knew as, Tim Speedle; she smiled.

A black limo pulled into the driveway pulling Lauren back to reality. Her family had arrived. In some ways she wasn't ready to face them. She wanted more time to think about everything that had happened, but what's done is done. She wanted them here.

Before the limo came to a full stop one of the doors flew open. Lauren quickly stood up and jogged over to the vehicle; she knew who it was. "Danny, stay in the car you crazy!" Daniel Cranbrook was Lauren's youngest sibling and only brother. He was a seventeen year old high school student, who happened to have Down Syndrome. Lauren loved him to pieces. He was a bright kid with a bright future; she was so proud of him. "Daniel, get back in the car and wait until it stops… please before you hurt yourself," Lauren said again.

The limo finally came to a complete stop and Danny stepped out. "LAUREN!" he shouted.

"You're going to give me a heart attack you know that… jumping out of the car like that." She pulled him into a tight hug. "But I love you."

"Love you, sissy." He let her go and headed to the back of the vehicle to retrieve his luggage.  
Following Daniel was their mother, Caroline. She hugged her daughter tightly and whispered, 'Everything will be okay' before helping Lauren's father out of the car.

Roger Cranbrook was confined to a wheelchair after suffering a gunshot wound to the back several years ago.

During a family trip to New York a gang member ventured out into the city looking for his enemy. He spotted him on a busy street and started firing off rounds. The gang member injured several people and killed two. Her father was one of the victims injured. "Hi daddy," Lauren said with a smile as she bent down to give her father a hug. Her father's strong comforting embrace felt so good. It had been a while since she had that from a man.

"Hi Angel. You okay? Your sister has gotten us all worried," he said letting go of Lauren.

Lauren put on a fake smile and said, "In time daddy. You guys can go in. I'll help Jack with the kids. The doors open. Make yourself comfortable." Next, to Lauren's surprise, she saw her youngest sister, Madelyn, 21, step out of the car with her boyfriend of three years, Matthew Newport, 22. "Maddie, what are you doing here? I thought you had classes right now? But I'm glad you could make it." Lauren hugged her sister then Matthew.

"Well, family is more important than school right now," she said placing a hand over her stomach. "Ugh, that plane ride made me nauseous."

Lauren scrunched up her nose and made a face. "Bathroom is straight down the hall and to your right if you need it." Madelyn thanked her sister and ran to the bathroom, Matthew was right behind her.

Lauren turned back to the car and saw her brother-in-law, Jack Colonna. He was holding a car seat carrier in his hand with her four month old nephew, Adam. Lauren always thought her sister was crazy going back to work so soon, especially considering her profession. "Hey guys!" Lauren said smiling as she walked over to them. "Oh my gosh, he's getting so big already."

"What about me Aunt Lolo," Jack and Maggie's eldest child, Julianna said hopping out of the car. She had just turned four a few months ago.

"You are getting so big too. How do you like being a big sister now?" Lauren said picking her niece up.

"I love it!" she shouted.

"Awesome, come on why don't you go with grandma and grandpa and head inside. Your daddy and I will be there soon, okay."

"Okay, is Johnny here?"

Lauren frowned. "No honey he's not… go on inside okay."

"Okay, I love you Aunt Lolo." She hugged Lauren then headed inside to find her grandparents.

"She thinks of the cutest nicknames doesn't she," she said laughing. "So how's the off-season treating you? Do we know if you're still going to be with the Saints?" Jack was a player in the national football league. He played for the New Orleans Saints, but as of right now they weren't sure. This was his free agent year, and he was, in some ways looking for a change of venue.

Jack smiled. "Yes she does. It's good so far. I got a new baby boy to keep me occupied, but we aren't here to catch up on what I've been doing. What about you? How are you doing? Maggie said a lot has been going on with you. More than you've been letting on," he said grabbing his son's diaper bag just as he started crying. "Hold on little man. I know you're hungry. Just give daddy five minutes so he can get all our stuff together."

Lauren looked at her nephew then Jack. "Here, I'll take him inside and feed him, while you get the rest of the things."

Jack sighed and passed Adam and the diaper bag over to Lauren. "That would be great. His bottles and formula are all in there… oh and Lauren, you're not off the hook yet. Tonight when everyone is asleep, we're talking." Lauren nodded. There was no way she would win this argument.

Inside, Caroline wheeled Roger into the living room with Julianna close behind her. She set her bags down and helped him onto the sofa. Danny was close behind his niece with his bags; he set them down next to his mother's. "Okay are you all settled and comfortable honey?" Caroline asked her husband.

"Yes thank you sweetheart," Roger said giving her a quick kiss.

"You're welcome. I'm just going to see if Madelyn is alright and help Jack bring in the rest of the bags so we can send the driver off." Caroline walked down the hall to the bathroom, and asked if her youngest daughter was alright. Madelyn said she was fine so Caroline headed outside to help her son-in-law.

Lauren entered the living room with baby Adam in her arms and a bottle in the other. "You must be hungry little man. Your daddy said you haven't eaten in a while," Lauren said in her best baby voice. She loved babies and kids. It was her dream to have a big family like she had now, but as of right now she didn't know if one baby was possible. She put the bottle up to Adam's little mouth, and he latched onto it instantly.

"So Lauren where's Johnny?" Danny asked looking around the house.

Lauren's heart sank a little. Danny was very close with Jonathan, and didn't know how he would take the news of their breakup. She was surprised he hadn't found out already. "Um… Danny, that's what I need to talk to everyone about. So if you'll just give me minute okay. Plus this little one needs to eat." Lauren gave her nephew a little kiss on the forehead.

Danny being Danny he didn't let the conversation go. "What about him? Is he hurt? He's not going to die is he?"

She swallowed hard as she began to feel a knot form in her throat. "No Danny. He's fine. Nothing happened to him."

"Then why is he not here? You two are getting married in a two months, five days, and fifteen hours. I've got it on my calendar and on my iPod." He pulled out his new iPod and showed Lauren. She smiled back, but her heart was breaking even more.

"Danny, listen to me okay. Johnny is not here, and he won't ever be here again. No we are not getting married anymore. I know you were excited and so was I, but things changed and Jon and I are no longer together." Tears began to roll down her cheeks.

"But why-"

"Daniel," Roger interrupted. "Leave your sister alone. She will tell us in a little bit."

Danny sat hunched over on the sofa next to his sister. "I'm sorry Lauren."

Lauren took her free hand and rubbed his back and said, "It's okay, Danny. I know you're upset and so am I." The room filled with silence. When Lauren finished feeding Adam, Madelyn and Matthew surfaced from the bathroom, and Jack and Caroline managed to bring the rest of the luggage inside.

"Ugh, seriously I hate morning sickness! Why do they even call it that when you get it twenty-four seven," Madelyn shouted to no one in particular.

This time it was Lauren's turn to be shocked. "Morning sickness? What are you talking about?"

Madelyn looked at her sister and said, "You know the nausea, dizziness, and puking you get when you're pregnant."

"Don't be stupid. I know what morning sickness is. You're pregnant?"

"Oh! I didn't tell you?" Madelyn said.

Lauren furrowed her brows. "Um, obviously not or I wouldn't be asking."

"Well, I'm almost three and a half month pregnant with my wonderful fiancé's child. We're totally excited," she said cheerfully.

Deep down inside, Lauren's heart began to break even further, if that was at all possible. Another family member living the life she always dreamed about. "I'm sorry. Congratulations you guys, on the baby and engagement." Lauren carefully got up and handed Adam to Jack before heading into the kitchen to let her emotions fly.

Madelyn looked at Matthew and frowned. "This wasn't a good time to be bringing this up. Ugh, I knew I should have told her when we talked a month ago."

"Honey, you can't worry about it. If you would have waited until you were showing she would have still been upset because you didn't tell her sooner," Matthew said rubbing her belly.

"You haven't talked to her in a month?" Caroline asked shocked.

"Yeah, she's been on her world tour. The time difference was hard for me because of classes and things. We emailed each other a lot though."

Caroline sighed. She had a feeling this was the reason why Lauren and Jonathan broke up. Lauren was hardly ever home; they never had time alone together. "That's probably why they ended their relationship. She's hardly ever home."

"Oh come on Caroline. That's absurd," Roger said.

"Daddy, what is everyone talking about?" Julianna piped in. She hadn't been paying any attention to the conversation. She was too busy looking at her new baby brother and playing with her new toy.

"Honey, it's hard to explain everything right now so you can understand, but I promise tonight I'll tell you okay," Jack said. To his surprise Julianna understood and went back to playing with her toys. Out of the corner Jack's eye he saw Lauren enter the living room again. "On second thought Julianna, let's go upstairs and take a quick nap. I'm sure you're tired and so am I. You can help me with your little brother."

"Okay," she said and hopped off the sofa and up the stairs.

Not a moment passed before Caroline asked Lauren about what had happened between her and Jonathan. Lauren sighed and began to tell her family what happened, "Last night I had gotten home from being on tour. I wanted to surprise him, and when I saw that he was home I was so happy. I left everything in my car and ran inside." Lauren looked down at her hands, and tears began to fall from her eyes again. "That's when everything went downhill. I opened our bedroom door to find him in bed with some escort, who he's been apparently screwing for over five months now." Lauren began to sob. "What's even better is the girl is four and a half months pregnant!" Caroline, Madelyn, Roger, and Matthew gasped. "While I was away trying to make a living for us and planning our wedding he was having sex with that whore."

No one knew what to say at the moment, so they sat in silence for a few moments. Danny just leaned over and hugged his sister tightly. Then her mother spoke, "Lauren… I hate to say this, but don't you think the main reason for your break up and his cheating was because of you being away so long. I mean you hardly ever take breaks or vacations. You're always working. You need to spend time with your family and Jonathan."

Lauren made a face that was full of hurt. "What? I'm working too much. Mother I am trying to make a living for myself. I'm giving myself and all of you the life we didn't have when I was a little girl."

"Lauren, don't get mad at your mother. She's just trying to understand what is going on here," Roger said.

"I'm not mad. I-I'm just… I don't know what to think anymore dad. So much has happened to me in the past several months of my life… and I asked Jon to come with me. To be one of my dancers on the tour. I said it would give us a chance to reconnect, and maybe find a place to have our wedding. Mother I begged him to come with me. I begged so hard. He continuously said no to me. He said that I would be too busy. That wasn't the case. My dancers and I went all around the European cities and had so much fun, but it would have been better if Jon was there. But he wasn't because he said no, no, and no!" Lauren looked down at the watch she had on. The time was 9:50pm. It was almost time to meet up with Speed.

"Honey, I'm sorry, but this is just how I see it. Come sit down and tell us everything," Caroline said softly.

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I have to be somewhere in ten minutes. It's important." Without saying another word Lauren left leaving her family speechless.


	6. Chapter 6

Meanwhile, Speed lay face down, on Calleigh's guest room bed, with his head buried in the pillow. The past couple days had been devastating to him. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he would be betrayed by the woman he thought he loved and the woman who he thought loved him.

Speed lifted up his head and looked at his bare ring finger. He could see a fading tan line where his wedding band had been. He snickered to himself. It was just like his marriage, fading away, and pretty soon it would be gone for good.

* * *

Calleigh stepped out of the shower, quickly dried off, and slipped into her pajamas. She grabbed her brush, and started to comb her hair as she walked down the hallway to her room. She stopped just short of the entrance when she her a small sob coming from her guest room.

She quietly walked into the bedroom and found Speed still laying face down in the pillow. "Tim, talk to me," she said sitting down next to him. When he didn't do or say anything she placed a hand on his back. "Tim…"

Speed lifted up his head up, but turned his head to the left, opposite of Calleigh. "What's there to talk about Calleigh?" Speed snapped.

Calleigh wasn't taken aback by his tone. She knew Speed was upset, and had every right to be. "I know it's hard to take all of this in right now, but it might help if you talk about it," she said calmly.  
Speed sat up and faced her. "Cal, what is there to talk about? My wife, who I thought loved me, is fucking my best friend, and now they have a child together. What is there to talk about?"

Calleigh looked up at the ceiling as she tried to stop her tears from falling. She wanted to be strong for Speed, but she was slowly failing. "I don't know Tim," she said just above a whisper. "I just hate seeing you like this, and I can't believe Kristina and Eric did this to you. It's breaking my heart. I just want to make it all better for you."

"Calleigh…" he said as he gently took her hand. "I appreciate everything you've done for me, and everything you will do for me. I really don't think I would've made it through these past couple days without you."

Wiping her tears away Calleigh said, "It's not a problem Tim. You would do the same for me, but you're welcome." The two friends embraced in a warm and comforting hug. Breaking away she added, "Is there anything I can get you?"

Speed shook his head no. He looked down at his watch and it read: 9:55pm. 'LC,' he said to himself. He had five minutes to get to the pier. "Calleigh, I have to be somewhere. I don't know what time I'll be back, but I'll be back sometime later on," Speed said scooting off the bed and grabbing his keys.  
Shocked Calleigh said, "Tim, where are you going? I think you should just stay in and get some rest."

Speed sighed. "Calleigh, this is just something I have to do."

She made a face trying to think of where Speed would have to go or want to go. Then it hit her. "Tim, does this have to do with the woman named LC and the letter from her." He said nothing. "It is isn't it?"

"Listen Calleigh I need to get going. I promise I'll tell you about it later. I really need to go." He hugged her again. "Thank you again for everything." With that he left Calleigh sitting on her guest bed.

* * *

Lauren stood at the end of the pier, staring out into the non-existent horizon line; the wind was blowing her hair every which way. She looked down at her watch. It was ten minutes after ten. 'He's not coming. How could I be so stupid? He doesn't want to talk to a troubled pop star,' she said to herself. Lauren turned to leave. There was no use in staying if he wasn't going to come.

It wasn't until she was about ten feet from the parking lot that she noticed a male figure walking toward her. Speed had come; a huge smile appeared on her face. "I thought you weren't going to show up, Speed," Lauren said stopping in her tracks.

"Sorry LC. I lost track of time," Speed apologized as he walked closer and closer to her.

She smiled. "It's alright. I wouldn't have blamed you for not coming. Listening to a troubled pop star is probably the last thing you want to hear."

"I don't mind. It'll help me forget about all of my problems." He sighed.

"Forgetting doesn't help the issue or problem, Speed." Lauren laughed and said, "It's easier said than done though, right?" Speed laughed too and nodded his head yes. "Shall we go down to the end of the pier?"

He smiled and said, "Lead the way."

Lauren was right. Keeping his feelings to himself wasn't going to do him any good, it would only get worse. But revealing all his secrets to a woman he barely knew was hard for Speed. It was even hard for him to tell Calleigh, but maybe telling someone he hardly knew at all was the best thing for him. Lauren had opened up to him. She seemed to trust him too.


	7. Chapter 7

Standing silently at the end of the pier, Speed and Lauren stared out into the ocean. Neither of them knew what to say. It was almost as if being in the presence of one another took away all the hurt and pain they were going through.

Breaking the silence Speed said to Lauren, "So, how are you doing?"

Lauren continued to look out into the ocean's horizon as tears started to fill the corner of her eyes. "Um, I guess not great. I've only really had a few short hours to really think about everything, and let it sink in." She paused to wipe away the few tears that had fallen down her cheeks. "Jon was my everything. We grew up together, went to school together, worked together, played together, sang together, loved together. Everything. Now all of that is all gone, but yet I still love him so much it hurts."

"Would you take him back if he asked?" was all Speed could say.

Lauren shrugged her shoulders. "My heart says absolutely, but my gut says no. He cheated on me, and he's been acting a little strange lately. How can I ever trust him again? Once a cheater always a cheater, right?"

"Yeah."

Another comfortable silence filled their conversation before Lauren said, "I walked in on him with another woman. They were having sex on our bed. Worst part was she was a prostitute. Apparently they've been doing each other for about five months. And to top it off she's four and a half months pregnant."

It took Speed a moment to realize that Lauren's situation was almost the mirror image of his situation. Both of them had cheating spouses; both had a child involved. The only differences were he was married and she wasn't; Kristina cheated on him with his best friend and Jon cheated on Lauren with a stranger. Opening up to Lauren might not be a bad thing after all. In some ways they could help each other heal.

"So why did you come down here?" Lauren asked wiping all her tears away.

Speed looked at her and smiled. "What do you mean, why did I come down here? You invited me."

Lauren looked down at the water below and blushed. "You didn't have to come, but I meant last night. Something was and obviously still is bothering you."

Speed sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He was about to pour out his broken heart to Lauren. "A couple years ago I was offered an undercover job with the FBI. I didn't want to do it, but my wife, Kristina told me I should go. In fact it felt like she was pushing me to go, which I thought was odd. We had just gotten married a month ago. My other co-workers were iffy, especially my boss."

"You took the job offer I'm guessing?"

"Yeah. They also told me I could have my current job back when I was finished so that helped my decision. If I couldn't have it back I probably wouldn't have taken it. Even though it was just a paycheck to me I loved the people I worked with. They're like family to me."

When Speed didn't continue Lauren asked him, "So what happened next?" She could tell this was hard for him.

"I came back two years later." Speed paused to clear his throat then continued, "I came back a little earlier to surprise Kristina. When I got to our house I found her in our bed with my best friend."

"Oh my God!" Lauren gasped. "Speed, that's horrible."

"It gets worse." He sighed. "They have a child together. I think she's like seven months, something like that. Her name is Hailey. Our marriage was a lie. A complete lie. She pretty much said it too. I was just her test drive for marriage. She said once she realized she couldn't have all the gorgeous men it burned her, so she wanted out, and my best friend Delko was there because I told him to look after her while I was gone. Everyone said don't marry her, but I didn't listen. I wasn't even thinking, which isn't like me."

Tears filled Lauren's eyes. Speed was betrayed by the two people who meant the most to him. "I'm sorry," was the only words she could muster up.

"Yeah, I am too." He was silent for a moment. "You know I called her as often as I could, and told her I loved her. It was all a lie."

Lauren moved closer to him until she couldn't move anymore. Speed looked down at her; his eyes were filled with tears. She opened her arms and pulled him into a warm embrace. Speed felt a tingle go up his spine when his body touched Lauren's. Her embrace was warm and comforting; it felt so good to him. It was just what he needed. Somehow he knew everything was going to work out in the end. He was already feeling better about everything, and was looking at it in a different light. He thought in some ways everything that had happened was a positive thing.

Their hug was interrupted when Lauren's cell phone started ringing. They broke their comfortable embrace sp Lauren answered her phone, it was Jonathan. "Hello."

"Lauren, I've been trying to call you for the past two days. Why aren't you picking up?" Jonathan's husky voice asked forcefully. Lauren was a little taken aback by this and couldn't find her words. "Lauren!"

Lauren finally answered him, "I'm sorry Jon, but you aren't at the top of my list for people to see or talk to right now. I need time."

"I want to see you. I want to talk to you. You've had two days. When are you going to come home?"

Lauren put her free hand in her head and tried to hold back her tears. "I'm not coming home, Jon."

"What do you mean you're not coming home? Where are you even staying?"' he asked angrily.

"Where do you think I'm staying, Jonathan! I'm staying at Jessica's house," Lauren snapped back.

Speed just stood there and listened to Lauren and Jonathan's heated conversation. He could hear Lauren's ex-fiancé, and he didn't like his tone of voice. Throughout his years as a CSI, Speed has seen a lot of bad people, and he felt deep down that Jonathan could be one of those people.

"Lauren, just come home. We need to talk about this."

"Jon, I'm not coming back. I told you we're done, and there's nothing to talk about. There was no excuse for what you did to me. I admit, it wasn't completely your fault, but you didn't have to go seek out a whore and fuck her for five months while I was on tour. I begged you to come with me Jon and you refused! You broke my heart into a million pieces." Lauren began to sob.

"You're really going to go there? I cannot believe you. You are such a bitch!" Jonathan yelled. It took all the strength in Speed's body not to take the phone from Lauren's hand and put Jonathan in his place. The way he was treating Lauren was unacceptable.

Pulling herself together, Lauren gave her last words, "I'll be there the day after tomorrow to pick up my stuff. I want you out of my house because I'm selling it. I don't care what the hell you do or where the hell you go, but I do not want to see your face for a very very long time." Lauren pulled her phone away from her ear and ended the call just as Jonathan called her a worthless piece of shit.

Speed didn't waste any time in pulling her in a hug. This time it was her turn to be comforted. He could feel her body shaking as she sobbed into his chest. No woman should ever be talked to like that. Speed didn't know what to say. There was no point in asking her if she was alright, because he already knew the answer. She wasn't fine, she was far from it.

A couple minutes later when Lauren had stopped shaking. Speed pulled away and looked into her sad hazel green eyes. It is then he remembered the scarf she had dropped the night before. "I know nothing can really make you feel better right now, but last night I think you dropped this," Speed said handing Lauren the scarf Danny had made for her.

Lauren eyes lit up a little bit; Speed smiled. "Where did you find this?" She sniffled. "I've been looking all over for it. I thought I lost it. My brother made this for me."

"It was hanging on the railing over there," he said point to the right of him.

Lauren looked up at him and smiled a watery smile. "Thanks Speed."

Speed smiled back. "You're welcome." He reached out his hand, and gently wiped the few remaining tears left on her cheeks. "We'll get through this."

"Together?"

"Together," he said with a smile. She smiled back.

Lauren looked down at her ring finger. She still had her engagement ring on. Lauren took it off, and ran her fingers over it. She noticed that Speed had reached into his pants pocket and pulled out his gold wedding band. "What do you say we toss these rings into the ocean?"

"Fresh start?" Speed asked.

"Yeah, something like that. Out with the old and in with the new, although it's definitely not going to be easy, because I still feel like my life is falling apart. Doing this would be a start."

"It's a start," Speed agreed. Without further ado, Speed and Lauren tossed their rings into the ocean.

Lauren looked down at her phone. It was 11:15pm. "Well, I guess we should go. My family came in, and I kinda walked out on them."

"Yeah, I should probably go. I kinda left my friend's place in a hurry too," Speed said looking at her. Out of the blue Speed asked, "You doing anything tomorrow?"

Lauren smiled. "Yeah, I've got a concert to do tomorrow night, and I'll be rehearsing for most of the day. But I'm pretty sure I can sneak a lunch break. What time is good for you?"

Speed's heart skipped a beat. "It all depends on how busy or not busy we are."

"Well, when you have your lunch break give me a call."

Speed smiled back and said, "Will do."

As they headed back to the parking lot, Lauren asked Speed if he wanted to come to her show tomorrow night, it was free and would be on South Beach. He thought for a moment then said yes. "Okay, but you have to follow me back to my friends place. I have passes for front row," she said with a smile.

Lauren hopped into her car and Speed got on his motorcycle and they drove off.


	8. Chapter 8

Speed pulled in behind Lauren. He noticed a woman sitting outside on the porch. She must have been waiting for, Lauren. He pulled off his bike helmet and could see this woman must have been her mother; he became slightly nervous. Speed saw, who he thought was Lauren's mother stand up when Lauren exited her car.

"Lauren, where have you been? We get here because Margaret said you were distraught, and then you take off like a bat out of hell. What is going on with you," Caroline said becoming frustrated. Caroline's eyes moved from her daughter to the tall dark and handsome man that had come in behind her. "And who is this young man?"

"Mom, please! Before you say anything-"

"No! We came all the way from home to see you and you took off. You didn't even tell us where you were going. We thought something happened to you!"

Lauren was about to explain why when Speed interrupted, "Mrs. Cranbrook, I'm sorry. It was my fault. I called your daughter, and needed to talk to her. And my name is Tim Speedle, and I work for the Miami-Dade Police Department. Trust me, Mrs. Cranbrook, I would never let anything happen to your daughter."

Caroline gave him a look. She had never seen this man before, and Lauren had never mentioned she was friends with a police officer. "Are you in trouble?"

"No, no… Tim is a friend of mine. Mom, please listen to me. I went to go meet him at the pier. He didn't call and ask me, I asked him. I go there to think about things and clear my head." Caroline nodded her head and encouraged Lauren to continue with her story. "I'm sorry I just got up and left, but I did clear my head, and I wanted to apologize to you guys. I didn't mean to snap at you, it's just… it's just that a lot of things have been going on in my life that I haven't said, and this whole thing with Jon just added to it," Lauren choked out.

Speed saw the stern look on Lauren's mother's face disappear.

"No, honey, I'm sorry. I jumped to conclusions without hearing your side of the story." Caroline let go of her daughter and turned to Speed. "Officer Speedle, it's nice to meet you, and thank you for making sure nothing happened to my daughter."

"No, the pleasure is mine, Mrs. Cranbrook. You have an amazing daughter. I'm lucky to have her as a friend. And please, call me, Tim."

"Mom, can you please give us a minute? And can you go in the house and get me my duffle bag there's two concert passes for tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure thing." With that Caroline headed back inside to get the two concert passes.

Lauren turned to Speed. He could tell she was a little embarrassed. Her cheeks were a light shade of pink. "I'm sorry about that. I kinda figured my mom would be out here waiting for me. I should've warned you," Lauren said with a half laugh.

"It's okay. You have a lot on your mind," he said softly. A strand of Lauren's long dark brown hair blew in front of her face. Speed carefully moved it away. He smiled when the moonlight caught Lauren's eyes. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of hazel green.

Lauren felt a cold chin run down her back. It was unlike anything she had ever felt. His touch felt good; his touch felt comforting; Speed felt right.

"Here honey, I got you those passes you wanted," Caroline said coming back outside.

Lauren broke her eye contact with Speed and looked at her mother. "Thanks, mom… can you give us a minute," Lauren said when she noticed her mother staring at her and Speed.

"But I just gave you a minute," Caroline said as Lauren took the concert passes.

"I know but I need a few more minutes… to say goodbye."

"Oh, okay. Well it was nice meeting you, Tim. My daughter seems to like you… oh and would you like to come over for a late dinner tomorrow since it seems my daughter has invited you to her concert."

"Mom!" Lauren exclaimed.

Speed chuckled. "I would love to, Mrs. Cranbrook."

"Good! I'll see you tomorrow then, Tim," Caroline said then left the two alone again.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, Speed. I have no idea what's gotten into my mom. She's never acted like this before," Lauren said trying to apologize.

Speed chuckled again. "LC, it's okay. Your mom seems like she's a wonderful person."

Lauren smiled. "Yeah, she is. Well, I guess I'll let you go. You probably want to get home and get some sleep, and here are the passes. Call me when you get there so I can send someone to get you." Speed took them from Lauren's hand. "And Speed… thanks for coming out tonight."

"No, I should be thanking you. I feel like I can finally start to move on from almost everything that's happened in the past twenty-four hours. So thank you."

Lauren half laughed. "You're welcome. I wish I could say the same thing, but you can't just forget years and years of being in a relationship. I guess time heals all." Lauren rubbed her face and sighed. "Ugh, I'm not looking forward to going back to our place and getting my stuff."

"That reminds me, LC, if you change your mind about wanting someone to go with you just let me know."

"Thanks, Speed, but I think I'll be alright. He's just upset right now."

Speed pulled Lauren into a hug and said, "LC, I'm serious. He didn't just sound upset. I don't want him to hurt you." Speed was falling for her, and he didn't even realize it.

"He won't, Speed. If I change my mind I'll call you."

He let her go and kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow, LC."

"Bye, Speed. See you tomorrow. Call me if you want."

"I will," Speed said as he slipped back on his helmet. He started the engine and drove off into the night.

* * *

The next morning, Speed woke up earlier than normal. The time was 5:30a.m. when he had stepped out of the shower; he was now in Calleigh's kitchen making them some breakfast, scrambled eggs, toast, fruit, and orange juice.

After his talk with Lauren and after having the rest of the night to think, Speed realized he had never really loved, Kristina. He was just infatuated with her. His anger toward her shifted to himself. How could he have let Kristina take advantage of him? Everyone said don't marry her, but he didn't listen.

Speed tried to tell himself everything happens for a reason, and the reason for marrying Kristina, he did not know. But the one thing that still bothered him was, Eric. What would happen with their friendship? Speed certainly didn't want to lose that strong friendship they had.

"Hey, look at you! You're up early," Calleigh said cheerfully and she came out fully dressed. The only thing that wasn't finished was her eat hair. "I heard you get in the shower like an hour ago."

Speed smiled as he poured Calleigh some orange juice. "Yeah. I couldn't really sleep."

"Is everything okay? Where did you go last night? I've never seen you take off like that." Calleigh took the glass of orange juice from Speed and sat down at her kitchen table. "And who is this woman, named LC?"

Speed smiled when Calleigh mentioned Lauren's nickname. "I'm fine, Calleigh, really," Speed said turning off the stove and plating the scrambled eggs. He grabbed a couple pieces of toast from the toaster and buttered them before grabbing a bowl of fruit from the fridge.

"Okay, so where did you go, and who is this woman named LC?" Calleigh took the plate from Speed and set it down in front of her. She began to eat her breakfast.

"I went to the pier," Speed began. He to sat down at the table to eat breakfast. "Yes, I went to meet the woman named, LC. And before you ask how we met… we met at the pier the night before. That's all I'm saying for now." Speed gulped down his orange juice in three gulps.

"Okay, I can respect that, but don't do something you're going to regret later. It's already happened once, Tim. I care a lot about you, and I don't want to see you get hurt again," Calleigh said concerned.

"I know, Calleigh. I've learned my lesson. After last night, I realized I never even loved her. Now I'm just angry at myself for letting all of this happen. If I would've just listened to you and everyone else, Delko and I would still be best friends and…"

"Tim, stop it, okay. This is not your fault," Calleigh said placing a comforting hand on the side of her friend's arm.

"No, it is my fault, because if I wouldn't have married her then none of this would've happened. Things would be normal."

Calleigh furrowed her eyebrows. "Tim, listen to me. This whole thing isn't just your fault, it's far from being your fault. Everything happens for a reason."

Speed snickered as he took the last bite of his scrambled eggs. "Yeah, what's the reason because I can't really think of anything?"

"Time will tell, Tim. Come on let's finish getting ready and head to work."


End file.
